


The Quiet Moments

by ToTheStarsWriting



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec Lightwood Loves Magnus Bane, Cooking, Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, M/M, Magnus Bane Loves Alec Lightwood, Music, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, he's a big softie, quiet moments, with everything he has
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:29:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27086362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToTheStarsWriting/pseuds/ToTheStarsWriting
Summary: Magnus comes home to find his boyfriend waiting for him, and he's reminded all over again why he loves this man more than anything.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 26
Kudos: 243





	The Quiet Moments

**Author's Note:**

> Listen this is just fluffy nonsense with no real purpose :D Enjoy!

Magnus knew from the instant he stepped through the portal that his boyfriend was already in his loft waiting for him. The wards were keyed to let Alec in no matter what, something which he knew flustered his boyfriend a little. Magnus loved it. He loved the way that Alec was able to just walk in now without having to knock or wait for Magnus to be there. And he loved how Alec had grown comfortable enough to start coming over and sticking around even when Magnus wasn't home. The fact that he considered the loft a safe space for himself, a home, was everything Magnus could want.

The thought of finding Alec somewhere in the loft brought a smile to Magnus' lips. He banished the portal at the same time that he called out “Honey, I'm home!”

There was no answer. Magnus shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over the back of the chaise lounge. He kicked off his shoes as well, sighing in relief at the release from the too-tight toes and the higher-than-normal heel. Those boots helped pull together a powerful outfit and make the perfect statement, but _Lilith_ did they make his feet hurt. Not even magic could protect him from that.

In stockinged feet Magnus made his way out of his bedroom and into the main part of the loft. It’d been a hell of a long day, and the thought of curling up with a drink and Alec so he could vent was just what he needed. “Alexander?”

He didn't find Alec out in the living room or in the dining area. Though he did find a suit jacket hanging on a hook by the door, and familiar weapons on the weapon rack. Magnus' smile grew a little more. It did ridiculous things to his heart to see Alec's stuff hanging up there with his. Or to see the boots that were sitting on the little shoe rack Magnus had installed specifically for shadowhunter shoes. They always seemed to carry in a multitude of things that Magnus didn't want in his carpet. Alec was good at making sure to take his shoes off if he knew he was going to be there for more than a few minutes.

Okay, so he'd found signs of Alec being here, and his wards let him know that his boyfriend was around here somewhere. Magnus let his magic reach out to tell him where exactly his stray shadowhunter was at.

When he found him, his smile grew. _Of course_.

Recently he and Alec had taken to watching a few cooking shows as their way to unwind together in the evening. There was something so incredibly domestic and sweet about curling up in lounge clothes on the couch, eating dinner, and watching a television show together. It was so very _mundane_.

Magnus loved it.

They'd worked their way through a couple random shows. One of the ones they'd both settled on, however, was the Great British Baking Show. Alec _loved_ it. He loved watching the competition, the things they created, the creativity, and – as he put it – “Everyone on there is so nice. They don't... on the other shows, they're all about winning. No one really cares about anyone else. But these people are just, they're _nice_.”

A side effect of watching these shows was that Alec had taken to cooking a whole lot more. Something that Magnus definitely wasn't going to complain about. Not only did he get the wonderful joy of eating the fruits of Alec's labors, he also got the added pleasure of portaling Alec to various places around the world so that he could get good, fresh ingredients. Alec still sometimes got flustered at Magnus taking him to these places, or so easily buying him some random ingredient that he insisted he could've gone to the store for. But Magnus enjoyed those moments. He liked being a part of this little slice of Alec's life. And he liked to spoil him a little.

Magnus wondered absently what it was his boyfriend was making tonight. He hadn't smelled anything yet, though as he got closer to the kitchen that definitely began to change. There was a faint hint of something herbal, and _oh_ , a sharp bite of _orange_ – one of Magnus' favorite flavors. His mouth watered a little as he got closer.

When Magnus finally reached the kitchen, the sight that met him was one that he would guard jealously, for he knew no one else would ever get to see it. This was a sight that was for him and him alone.

Alec was in the middle of Magnus' kitchen laying out what looked like some sort of pastry on the wooden block that made up the top of the island. He’d clearly been here for a while, as he was dressed down out of his work clothes and into a pair of his comfortable black sweatpants and a simple tank top. He was barefoot, his hair was a bit of a mess, and he had flour over quite a lot of him. All in all, he looked _gorgeous_.

It took Magnus a second to realize that Alec was stretching the pastry out, his big, calloused hands oh-so-gentle as they drew the pastry up and stretched it over his arms, thinner and thinner with each move. He didn't look up at Magnus' entrance. In fact, Magnus was pretty sure the shadowhunter didn't even know he was there. Something which put a warm feeling in Magnus' chest. It spoke volumes to how comfortable Alec was here, and how safe he felt, that he didn't react to Magnus returning. That he apparently hadn't even _realized_.

A second later Magnus realized part of why Alec likely hadn't seen him. His love turned his head a little, and a hint of white showed at his ear. _Headphones_. He had headphones in. Little Bluetooth earbuds with no dangling cord to get in his way as he cooked. Magnus hadn't even realized Alec _owned_ headphones. Let alone that he would use them.

Magnus crossed his arms over his chest and leaned sideways so that his shoulder rested against the doorjamb. There, he was free to watch as Alec continued to stretch the pastry. He was meticulous in his work, caught up in what he was doing, and Magnus was going to take advantage of this moment to just watch him.

A little shake of Alec's head brushed some of his hair back from his face. Yet seconds later those same bits slid back down into his eyes. He was getting a bit shaggy on top again. Soon, he'd probably try and grab the clippers and give himself another quick cut. He never shaved it, thankfully. Magnus loved his shaggy hair. But he did put his clippers on the highest setting and sort of buzz some of it down. Magnus made a mental note to catch him before he did it and offer to cut it himself. He was quite good at cutting hair. He'd be able to get it out of Alec's face while leaving him with that slightly shaggy look that worked so well for him.

The pasty on Alec's arm wobbled a little when he drew it up, and he heard Alec mumbled a low “woah there” as he froze. Then, with a gentle movement, he stretched it out and carefully laid it back down. “There we go.”

Whatever he'd done must've been good enough. Alec gave it one last look and then nodded a little as if things were perfect. Then he straightened up and turned around toward the stove, where that warm, delicious smell was coming from. Magnus couldn't see from this angle what exactly it was that Alec was doing up there. However, he _was_ able to see a much better sight than Alec cooking.

It started with a faint twitch of his hips, a small move that Magnus could've mistaken as Alec just shifting his weight around, if it wasn't for the way he immediately moved back, creating a faint sway. To Magnus' absolute delight, Alec continued to sway, adding in more elaborate twists as he went. Even his shoulders began to move a little.

A grin lit Magnus' face. He wished absently that he could hear whatever song it was that Alec was listening to that had him moving like that. While the shadowhunter stirred and cooked, eventually moving the food from the stovetop to a bowl on the side, he shimmied and wiggled in ways Magnus hadn't known he was capable of.

Alec must've finished what Magnus was guessing was the filling. He grabbed his bowl and a spatula and executed an absolutely perfect spin from the stove to the island.

Unfortunately, that move brought his gaze past Magnus, and though Alec might've been comfortable enough here to miss Magnus' arrival, he was too much a shadowhunter to miss the sight of Magnus standing there in the doorway.

the sight of him had Alec fumbling just a little. He managed to save the bowl by curling it in toward his chest, but he almost fumbled the spatula. Wide eyes locked on Magnus' face. “Magnus!” Alec stuffed the recovered spatula into the bowl and reached up with his now free hand to yank out one headphone. A gorgeous blush was already starting to stain his cheeks. “You're home!”

Magnus didn't even bother trying to hide his grin. “I am.”

“I uh, I didn't hear you come in.”

Oh, this sweet boy. Magnus pushed off the doorframe and strolled toward him. “Clearly. Not that I minded, darling. I do so love seeing you so...” He paused right in front of Alec and gave him a deliberate once-over. “...comfortable.”

Alec's blush darkened even further. He looked like he'd be more than happy for the floor to open up and swallow him whole.

Chuckling, Magnus pressed in close, nudging Alec's arm toward the pastry. “You might want to put in your filling, lovely. I know these things sometimes require everything to be a certain temperature. I wouldn't want to mess you up.”

That nudge clearly reminded Alec to move. He turned back toward his pastry, his free hand already reaching for the spatula, and his head ducked down like he might hide from Magnus. At the same time that he realized he still had his earbud in hand and therefore couldn't pick up the spatula, Magnus reached out to snag that earbud from him. He drew it up and slipped it into his own ear without any hesitation.

If Magnus had been asked to pick music that Alec might like, he wasn't quite sure what he would've gone with. Some soft rock, maybe. A bit of blues. He knew for a fact Alec enjoyed jazz. He'd fallen in love with it on their last outing to New Orleans. But never ever, in his wildest dreams, would he have expected to put that earbud in and hear the familiar voice of _Elvis Presley_ crooning at him.

He darted a look up at Alec's face only to find that Alec's blush now went down his neck and covered the tops of his ears. His eyes were resolutely on the filling he was pouring out into his pastry. The embarrassment was something familiar. Magnus might've teased him a little, though not too much. But the tense set to Alec's shoulders, the way he hunched over and avoided Magnus' gaze like he was just waiting to be made fun of, those were things that Magnus had done his damndest to make absolutely sure Alec never had any reason to feel around him.

This was clearly a sensitive subject. Magnus had no idea why. But he wasn’t going to press Alec to tell him why, either. Sometimes these kinds of things were just sensitive and that was it. He didn't have to know why to be respectful.

Very deliberately, Magnus turned his attention toward the pastry and away from Alec, allowing him to not feel like he was in the spotlight anymore. Then Magnus bent down and took a sniff over what he was working on. “You do realize you're going to make me fat if you keep cooking for me like this, don't you?”

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the way that Alec's shoulders relaxed the slightest bit. He even smiled a little, though he kept his eyes down on the food still. “I highly doubt that.”

“I don't know, Alexander. I think you're underestimating my gluttony.”

This time Magnus got a small chuckle. _Success_.

Alec finished with the last of the filling. He straightened back up, clearly intending to move to put the bowl on the counter, only to get stopped when Magnus waved a hand and wrapped the bowl up in magic to take it back to the counter for them.

“You roll this next, right?” he asked, looking down at the pastry. He was pretty sure he rememberd watching the bakers make something like this in the last few episodes.

Alec's nod confirmed it. “Yeah. We fold the edges first so it doesn’t leak, and then we roll it. We have to make it tight, but not too tight. We don't want any air gaps.”

A bit more magic helped Magnus to unhook and roll up his sleeves. He didn't try to reach for the pastry with magic. He just got his sleeves out of the way and shifted himself so that he was standing hip to hip with Alec.

In his ear, the song switched over, and the first sounds of _All Shook Up_ began to play in Magnus' ear.

Alec gave him a shy smile, one of those ones that was so full of love it left Magnus feeling like he was floating. No one had ever looked at Magnus quite the way Alec did. Like he was everything good that existed in the world.

The two turned back to the pastry at the same time. Together, they bent down over the pastry and reached out and carefully began to fold the edges in. Once they had it wrapped around the filling, they reached over to start rolling the pastry up together, their hands working easily and smoothly to curl the pastry up into one long log.

As they worked, Magnus hummed softly to the music playing in his ear. He felt Alec tense a little at the first sound of Magnus' humming – saw the way it made his hands falter ever-so-slightly. But then the tension drained away, and his moves were smooth once more. He didn't say anything, and neither did Magnus, but the way that he began to hum with him had Magnus' smile growing once more.

With the sounds of Elvis serenading them, the warmth of the kitchen around them, and the presence of the person he loved more than anyone else right there at his side, Magnus let go of any of the day's worries. He could gripe and complain about them later while they were sitting down to eat dinner. He could tell Alec about his day and listen to Alec talk about his.

For now, Magnus leaned in close and enjoyed one of the moments that made everything else feel worthwhile.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading - be sure to let me know what you think!
> 
> If you'd like to join a Multifandom server on Discord, come hang out [HERE](https://discord.gg/82pvdE39fD) in the Fandom Playhouse with me and a group of amazing people!
> 
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